Homemade Brass Cleaner

You can whip up a homemade brass cleaner to help you save a few pennies on cleaning your brass.

What is Brass?

Brass is an alloy, or mixture, of different metals, primarily copper and zinc. It is the copper in brass that gives brass its distinctive appearance. The copper content in brass can range from 58 to 95 percent, depending on the alloy's purpose. If you are looking at metal decorative work, the copper content is probably around 80 to 90 percent.

Homemade Brass Cleaner

If the brass that you have is newer, it was probably coated with lacquer at the factory before you bought it. If your brass is lacquered, cleaning the brass is a cinch. You just have to dampen a soft cloth and wipe off the brass. If you attack the brass with a household cleaner of any sort, you stand the chance of ruining the lacquer.

If your brass isn't lacquered, you have a couple of cleaning solutions. Grab the ketchup out of your refrigerator. Squirt some onto a clean rag and rub away at the brass. Then, take another clean rag, get the rag a little damp and wipe off any residue, or left over, catsup film. Buff the piece of brass dry.

If you don't have any catsup in the refrigerator, check your cupboards to see if you have any vinegar, flour and salt. Mix together a half of a cup of vinegar with one teaspoon of salt. Add enough flour so that you have formed a paste. Rub the brass with the paste. Wipe off the paste and rinse with a damp cloth after allowing the paste to sit and do its cleaning job for about ten minutes. Finish off the brass by buffing the piece dry.

Why does copper oxidize? Many metals change color when exposed to oxygen. This occurs when the metal loses one or more electrons, leading to corrosion. As an example, when iron oxidizes, the result is rust.